NAACP And KKK Hold First Meeting Together In History | Vibe

1.10.13

NAACP And KKK Hold First Meeting Together In History | Vibe: "In the 21 years that I've been here, that's the first I heard of the Klan in Gillette," Deaton told the Associated Press.

Abarr, who describes his KKK branch as non-violent and politically focused, filled out a form for NAACP membership by the meeting’s end. He noted this as a means to receive the civil rights group’s literature and to gain insight into its point-of-view.

"I don't know if we accomplished too much," he said. "We're not about violence. We're about being proud to be white."

Expected opposition of the meeting was also expressed. Mark Potok, a senior fellow at a small civil rights group called Southern Poverty Law Center, told the AP that he believes the meeting sent the wrong message.

"I think it's outrageous and counterproductive," he said. "It gives legitimacy to the Klan as an organization you can talk to."